Top 3 Tips for Decluttering
Wherever you are in your 2025 organizing goals—from “Goals? What goals?” to ticking off project after project—here are my top three tips for tackling the first step in any organizing project: decluttering
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One afternoon a few months ago, my boyfriend and I were working on a couple of projects around his apartment, one of which was paring down the over-full bin of food storage containers. As I was deep cleaning the shower (fun!), he was in the kitchen going through the bin. Every few minutes, he’d appear in the bathroom doorway to ask my thoughts on whether a container should stay or go. After saying “stay” about six times in a row, I realized I was breaking one of my top decluttering rules, which is…
(1) group like with like to make decisions easier.
gather everything from one category together, like makeup above, and then sort again by subtype
After I said “keep” again, I stopped myself and asked him to gather all the containers and spread them out on the kitchen table. Once we saw them all together, it was very clear which should stay and which should go.
When I looked at each container individually, it was very easy to say “keep” as long as there was nothing visibly wrong with it. Once I saw them all together, it was much easier to pare down. I could see very quickly that we had more than enough containers and that paring down by about 50% still left us with a good assortment that fit where we wanted to store them.
In the end, we kept the more eco-friendly Pyrex containers along with a few plastic containers that were in sizes we needed but didn’t have in the Pyrex.
Speaking of Pyrex, I have this set from Snapware. I got mine at Costco and I love it! And while I’m a fan of storing containers with the lids on, this lid organizer from YouCopia is a great way to keep a lid on your lids.
The like-with-like technique works really well in every area of the home, from the closet to the home office to the kids’ play area.
Two tips for making this easier and more efficient:
Don’t forget to look throughout your home for the category you’re considering, not just in the room or area you’re working in. For example, water bottles may be in backpacks, the car, and on night tables. Make-up and grooming products could be spread among a couple of bathrooms and hiding in drawers, purses and tote bags.
Be as specific as possible. Instead of sorting make-up, sort by subcategories like lipsticks and lip glosses. Instead of sorting pants, sort by type of pants and then by color and style within that category.
If decluttering is really difficult for you, even when you’ve gathered like with like, another way of approaching it is…
(2) start with where you want to end up.
In other words, have a vision of what an organized, decluttered space looks like. It doesn’t have to be super specific at first. You don’t have to decide on bins and baskets and labels. It doesn’t have to be the perfect arrangement. For now, just think of your goals for the space. This is also a top tip for organizing after you’ve decluttered.
visualize your dream space, where only your favorite and most useful items are stored, and everything has a place
For example, you want a clothes closet with all the clothes and shoes for the current season easy to see and access. You want each kitchen cabinet to be dedicated to one or two categories with the most frequently used items in easy-to-reach places. You want a pantry where food categories are grouped together, containerized and labeled. You want your dresser drawers to contain neatly folded items instead of a jumble of tangled clothes.
So, here’s how to move toward bringing those visions to life: remove everything from the space you’re organizing and group into like-with-like categories. Without over-thinking it, pick your favorite and/or most useful items from each category. Don’t stress about what to do with the rest.
Put these favorite items back as neatly as you can—either in a new spot or where you got them from. See what that looks like. If you’re happy with how it looks and feels, consider stopping there and discarding and donating the rest. If you have what you need and like, and it fits well where you put it, you’re all set. From there, you can adjust how things are stored and add organizing products to make the space more efficient and beautiful.
But what if all your favorite and useful items don’t fit where you want them? First, try space maximizing strategies. Here are three of my favorites:
Use the back of closet & cabinet doors. ELFA from container store has lots of flexible options. Or you can go for something more specific, like the jewelry armoire pictured here, or shoe racks like this metal and mesh tiered rack and this one with fabric and mesh pockets.
There are so many back-of-cabinet-door options for things like foil and wraps, pot lids, and cutting boards, to name a few. There are even magnetic holders (pictured) for the inside of medicine cabinet doors to hold items like Q-tips, floss picks, tweezers, and your thermometer, which frees up space on the shelves.
Use the vertical space in every area. Use sturdy stackable bins like these chic clear ones from The Container Store to stack clothes and other items on your top closet shelf. Under-shelf baskets in kitchen cabinets are great for smaller things that don’t stack well. Shelf risers in cabinets make it much easier to stack things at maximum height.
If you’ve maximized your space and you still don’t have room for what you want to keep, then it’s time to follow tip number three…
(3) make peace with the limitations of your space.
If you live in a New York City apartment, you know this lesson well. For example, while you may have a wardrobe of an influencer, you likely don’t have their closet space. This is when you have to make some tough decisions about “need” versus “want.” You may want 100 pairs of shoes. You may genuinely love and wear them all in the course of a year. But, if you don’t want your space to continue to be over-run with shoes, you’re going to have to accept the limitations of your space.
even the largest home has a limit to how much it can contain in a way that’s functional and beautiful
This is true for everyone, not just apartment dwellers. Even the largest of homes has a limit to how much it can contain in a way that’s functional and aesthetically pleasing.
It’s very hard to be organized when you simply have too much stuff for your space. The things you own should enhance your life, not take it over. So, if after you’ve pared down and maximized your storage space, you still have things that don’t fit well or at all, recycle, discard and donate. If you have something valuable, either in dollars or sentiment, consider lending it to a willing friend or family member until you have enough space for it.
TL;DR (aka The Summary)
Group like with like, as specifically as possible, to make decluttering and paring down easier.
If you’re still having trouble getting rid of things, visualize what a decluttered and organized space looks like and start to bring that vision to life using only the things that are either your absolute favorites or absolute necessities. You don’t need to do anything yet with the items that didn’t make the initial cut.
Once you see how good the pared down and newly organized space looks, it should be easier to let go of the rest.
When all else fails, remember that your space can only contain so much stuff. Better to live with less stuff, organized functionally and beautifully, than to be overwhelmed with too much. This is why you started organizing in the first place, right?
What’s the hardest part of decluttering and organizing for you? What are your favorite organizing tips? I’d love to hear from you!
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